Our two cents: Newborn must haves

{Maggie}

My first two picks are things you would want to watch before baby arrives:The Happiest Baby on the Block
– this video with Dr Harvey Karp will teach you the five S’s to try with baby swaddle, shush, side, swing and ? – okay I guess the fifth one isn’t that helpful! This will give you some thoughts about what to use to soothe a new baby

Dunstan baby language
– we had a home visit nurse with my pregnancy with Princess and the nurse brought this video. I would never have found it otherwise. Although some of you may have seen this woman on Oprah! She says babies say certain words such as “neh” “eh” and “owh”. They correspond to different needs like hunger, burp, uncomfortable, gas, and tired. We used these some with Princess. I use this all the time with our little Prince. I often hear these different “words” from him. I may have gotten better at hearing them as well. This video is worth watching and trying to apply. It doesn’t mean things go smooth all the time, but sometimes is helpful!

Swaddle
-nice large swaddle blankets are a must. Receiving blankets just don’t cut it. I’ve heard Aden and Anais are great! Also search google for some different methods. We don’t use the “standard” swaddle, but we love our method. (NOW learn our method on THIS POST)

A baby carrier
– if you’ve got other children at home this is a need need need me! Even if you don’t, babies often like to be warm and close to mom! I actually own a Snugli, a HotSling and was recently gifted a Moby Wrap. I have used them all in the last two months! Princess hated the HotSling, but little Prince will sleep in it while I do chores. We’ve walked to the park in the Snugli. Little Prince likes to be “worn” so sometimes he spends his afternoon in the Moby.

Bouncer or Swing-something to set your sweet baby into so you can: take a shower/do dishes/play with your oldest – need I say more?

The right diaper
-I hesitate to point to a specific diaper brand as “the diaper brand” because everyone seems to be different. This time, the newborn Huggies were leaking out the legs every time my little man went poop (which, for a newborn, is a lot!). I tried newborn size Luvs and problem solved! Now we’re back in Huggies (size 1) and they work fine.

-By far my most used item. This product allows me to sterilize bottles, pacifiers, and pump parts without having to run the dishwasher. 7oz of water and 4 minutes in the microwave could not be easier!

Clothing (duh!) In the correct size

I have to bring this up because our munchkin was a bit bigger than expected. I had a few newborn sized clothing items, most were given to me as gifts. In an effort to be as prepared as possible, I washed everything before my son was born. Since newborn clothing never fit him, these items will either be used on my future children, or more likely, given to someone else that can use them. Had I not washed them, I would have had the option to exchange them for something that would fit. (The same is true for diapers. I have a couple packages of newborn diapers that will be gifted to someone with a smaller child than I had.)

Ok, this one was a life saver when it came to breastfeeding. Because Eli was in the NICU for the first 3 days, he was given bottles which may have lead to some ‘nipple confusion’. Whatever the reason for his confusion, this nipple shield eliminated any issue. He latches on great with the shield and nurses without it sometimes (if he is really hungry!)Big blankets for swaddling

I have a few blankets that have already been washed multiple times because they are the best size for swaddling. Every evening, we make Eli into our ‘baby burrito’, and small blankets just don’t cut it.